InStyle.com: Helen Mirren's Transformation

Helen Mirren: 1969

When it comes to Helen Mirren, there ain't nothing like a Dame. Born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov to a Russian father and an English mother, the head-turning 69-year-old is as comfortable embodying Queen Elizabeth (I and II) as she is playing Hobson in the remake of "Arthur." Not to mention that she's likely the only Dame Commander of Order of the British Empire with a decades-old tattoo and a red carpet penchant for towering Lucite platforms. In fact, you could say that her beauty secret is her whole-hearted embrace of all life has to offer. "I have my dark moments," she has said, "but I have a fundamentally sunny nature. Unhappiness etches itself on one's face very quickly."

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When it comes to Helen Mirren, there ain't nothing like a Dame. Born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov to a Russian father and an English mother, the head-turning 69-year-old is as comfortable embodying Queen Elizabeth (I and II) as she is playing Hobson in the remake of "Arthur." Not to mention that she's likely the only Dame Commander of Order of the British Empire with a decades-old tattoo and a red carpet penchant for towering Lucite platforms. In fact, you could say that her beauty secret is her whole-hearted embrace of all life has to offer. "I have my dark moments," she has said, "but I have a fundamentally sunny nature. Unhappiness etches itself on one's face very quickly."

With her untamed mane of curls and kohl liner, Mirren played sexually charged roles in "Hussy" and the controversial "Caligula." "It was like being well paid to visit a nudist colony," she once joked. (CREDIT: Mirrorpix/Courtesy Everett Collection) See More of Helen Mirren's Transformation

The actress' fame grew playing Detective Jane Tennison on the murder miniseries "Prime Suspect." Her dangerous look included matte red lips, a sleek short cut and a new tattoo of a Native American symbol meaning "equal but opposite." (CREDIT: Michael Grecco/Getty Images) See More of Helen Mirren's Transformation

She wore a feathered hat she called "my bird's nest" to pick up her Golden Globe for "Losing Chase." Joan Rivers and others panned the look, causing Mirren to quip, "I'm going to wear garbage bags from now on." (CREDIT: Ron Galella/WireImage) See More of Helen Mirren's Transformation

"Who has ever played the two Elizabeths in a lifetime, let alone in the same year?" asked the regal star of "The Queen" and "Elizabeth II." Away from the palace(s), she wore her crowning glory in a retro pompadour. (CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images) See More of Helen Mirren's Transformation